I didn’t expect Roger Federer would play the claycourt season after he won the Sunshine Double of Indian Wells and Miami.
So it’s no surprise that he has decided to skip Roland Garros, given two factors.
One, to win the French he has to have a claycourt preparation and he made the decision early on that he wasn’t going to do it. So that was the pre-cursor to this news.
Related: Federer to miss French Open
As an athlete, to go into an event you have to be fully prepared. That’s especially so on a surface that for him is his “worst”. Clay is the season that needs most preparation. I think it’s very clear when you sit back and look at Federer’s schedule for the year – the French was never on it. And if all of a sudden he says, oh I might have a go, then he goes off his plan, and that could derail the rest of the year.
Secondly, I think he’s watched Rafa and seen the amazing form Rafa’s in, and realised he’d have no chance of beating him on a surface on which Rafa has always dominated him throughout the years. Even if he was to meet Rafa, let’s say in the Roland Garros final with three wins against him already under his belt this year, it’s a script that’s been written before. It would be a replay of those years that Nadal dominated him on clay.
Related: Woodbridge – Why Rafa Nadal is so strong on clay
I think what’s important for Roger here is that at this age, he needs his body to be 100 per cent to get through the grass court season. So any depletion resulting from playing on clay and potentially sustaining a niggle would hurt his chances of keeping full fitness and going deep at Wimbledon.
I don’t see this decision putting any more pressure on him to perform well at the All England Club. Yet there is one pressure that Roger wasn’t anticipating, and that’s Rafa’s form. Looking ahead to Wimbledon, the showdown will be the most anticipated story, with these two being the favourites and on course for a potential head-to-head match to rival this year’s Australian Open final.
I see Roger enjoying this pressure because it’s something that was perhaps a little unexpected; I’m not sure, when the season began, he truly believed he would be in this position back at the top of the sport and battling his biggest rival.
Federer’s goal since winning in Australia has to be winning another Wimbledon – potentially a record eighth title. That’s his motivation now. Skipping Roland Garros simply resets him for the second half of the 2017, which then quite unexpectedly will become a race for No.1 between him and Rafa.
It’s an extraordinary year, given we are watching these two playing some of their greatest tennis in the twilight of their careers. Enjoy it while we can.
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